Paul was with us in Veragouth and Xilema for his ten-month internship at the school, under the wing of our Technical Office Manager Marius Pabst. We met up with him once he had returned to his hometown in the canton of Jura, where he will shortly complete a degree in wood engineering at the Biel University College of Architecture, Wood and Building (BFH-AHB).

Veragouth and Xilema: Your internship was very varied, from designing construction details to building sites, which activities stimulated you the most?

Paul: For me it was nice to be able to see a bit of everything that goes on in the company, the thing I enjoyed most was testing construction details in the field. Finding static and physical solutions during the design process that would best solve the construction. For example, in Architect Bobst’s building extension project in Lugano, every time a problem was encountered, details were developed to solve it.

VX: How in particular do you feel enriched by this experience?

P: I learnt many different skills at school, but participating in a real design process was really something new. The design process that leads from 2D drawing to 3D object, getting into the heart of things and touching their practical side. This is something that they can hardly teach you at school.

VX: Can you tell us about a failure during your experience?

P: During the design of a construction detail, I had not left enough millimetres of lay-in for the joint, and so the manufactured piece did not work. I realised that you can only realise some of the problems of going from design to reality with practice.

VX: Did the internship make you discover new horizons that you are interested in exploring in the field of wood?

P: I am particularly interested in the topic of “cradle to cradle”, how we can improve construction from an ecological and reuse perspective. How can we build to reuse materials in the future? A very important point for those who build with wood, companies like Veragouth and Xilema will be increasingly constrained by new regulations, so better to anticipate and understand how to meet the challenges of tomorrow.

VX: How is your thesis progressing and how did the internship help you to advance it?

P: The aim of my thesis is to find solutions for the production of wooden walls in such a way that the layers can be separated again tomorrow for re-use, i.e. without glue and without staples. The internship was useful for me to learn the standard details commonly used as a starting point for then developing innovative solutions.

VX: Based on which characteristics of the company did you choose Veragouth and Xilema?

P: I wanted to go to Italy but it was too complicated, then I met Marius at the company presentation day at the school in Biel and we kept in touch. Ticino is closer than Italy but it’s also a totally different culture to where I come from, I wanted to get to know something new.

VX: Besides the work, did you find a welcoming human environment?

P: When I arrived, I didn’t know the language, so it wasn’t easy. I looked for a shared house with Italian guys, this accelerated my learning of the language a lot. However, from the beginning I found people who tried to include me and interact with me, thus stimulating me to learn Italian quickly. From here, my social relations got better and better, also thanks to the work team. I must say it was a good human experience, especially with Marius but not only for the work. And Allegra was also very nice, I’ve never seen a canteen like that!

VX: What did you like most about the area that made it different from others?

P: I like exploring and going into the mountains, from climbing to picking mushrooms, so I discovered a new region, which surprised me in places. For us in inland Switzerland, Ticino is the sun, I met a lot of people with an open mindset that I liked, also thanks to the mix with the Italian culture.

VX: Paul, after your experience we would like to know if you would recommend a young colleague to do an internship here with us. P: Absolutely! I would recommend any young wood engineering enthusiast to have this experience with Veragouth and Xilema. It was a unique opportunity to grow professionally and personally. Here I learnt not only how to be a competent engineer but also how to be part of a warm and collaborative team. The company offers an innovative and challenging perspective on the world of wood and sustainability. The opportunity to work closely with Marius and the team is a privilege, and Ticino is an extraordinary place to live and work. So, yes, I would definitely recommend all young people to have the same experience I had here. It is a real educational and personal growth proposition that will definitely bear fruit in their professional future. You won’t regret it!

VX: Marius, a comment?

Marius Pabst: I liked the experience Paul brought, he was autonomous and organised, a great support. Paul was fully included in the flow of the 3D design, working side by side with the team. We realise that doing things ‘for real’ can also be a bit scary at the beginning, in the internship you have to face new situations day by day. That is why it is important to think of the stage as a journey and to identify certain milestones.

P: A successful Jura/Ticino crash test!